Effect of Posterior Subtenon Triamcinolone Acetonide Injection on Diabetic Macular Edema Refractory to Intravitreal Bevacizumab Injection

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetonide injection on refractory diabetic macular edema (DME) after intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injection failure. METHODS: Patients with DME and central subfield thickness (CST) >300 µm who did not respond to IVB injections were retrospectively included. Specifically, we enrolled patients who were diagnosed with refractory DME and who experienced an increase in CST after 1 to 2 IVB injections or no decrease after ≥3 consecutive IVB injections. One clinician injected 20 mg of triamcinolone acetonide into the posterior subtenon space. All patients received ophthalmic examinations at baseline and at 2, 4, and 6 months post-baseline. Examinations included Snellen visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: Forty eyes of 34 patients were included. The average baseline CST was 476 µm. The average CST decreased to 368 µm at 2 months, 374 µm at 4 months, and 427 µm at 6 months (p < 0.001 for all results, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The average intraocular pressure increased from 15.50 to 16.92 mmHg at 2 months but decreased to 16.30 mmHg at 4 months and 15.65 mmHg at 6 months. Logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuity improved from 0.56 to 0.50 at 2 months (p = 0.023), 0.50 at 4 months (p = 0.083), and 0.48 at 6 months (p = 0.133, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). No complications were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetonide is an effective and safe treatment for reducing CST in DME refractory to IVB.